BY WARREN SMITH
President-elect Donald Trump has defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in their bids to become the next President of the United States. But the question now is whether he is trusted by the American public. Many concerns have been expressed about President-elect Trump’s ability to lead this country with integrity.
For example, one of the big issues in our country is police brutality against blacks and members of other minority groups. During an interview with Trump, Anderson Cooper asked him whether he felt that blacks were being targeted and treated unfairly in light of the Texas incident where motorist Sandra Bland was pulled over for allegedly changing lanes. Trump stated, “I hope it’s not, but it might.” Trump also noted that the officer was very aggressive in his approach to Bland.
Now, it is no secret that minorities have often received hostile, unfavorable treatment from racist police officers and a broken criminal justice system. During recent American history, documented police brutality incidents have ranged from civil rights marchers being set upon with tear gas, dogs and fire hoses in the turbulent 1960s; to the beatings of Rodney King and Abner Louima, as well as the shooting of Amadou Diallo in the 1990s; to the shootings of Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin and Freddie Gray in the 2000s, along with countless others who were beaten and murdered because of the color of their skin. Yet Trump says that he hopes that racism does not exist.
The person who leads this country must know and understand its history and be willing to face it directly. How can he address the nation’s problems if he does not fully believe what history has shown? While this country has come a long way from the slavery era, many examples of racism still exist.
Another issue is Trump’s views on women. According to CNN, Trump has made many negative statements about women. In the opinions of many Americans, these statements are disheartening and unfitting for a president who says that he seeks to represent all Americans. His negative comments on women have ranged from “Bimbo” to “It really doesn’t matter what they write as long as they have a pretty piece of ass;” ”A person flat chested is hard to be a 10;” and ”Look at her face, would anyone vote for that?” Then there was Trump’s verbal feud with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, during which he made the following statement: “There was blood coming out of her eyes, coming out of her wherever.”
Despite these statements, a determined Clinton campaign, and many Republicans who did not side with him as their presidential candidate, Trump managed to overcome the odds and will soon become the 45th President of the United States of America. Like it or not, it was a remarkable victory that was not foreseen and that will be talked about for years to come.
His claim of making America great again in my opinion refers to white privileges rather than privileges for all. Personally, I can’t remember a time in history when America was great for African Americans or other minorities. So what part of “Making America Great Again” was he referring to? While pushing his wife’s economic and education plans, Clinton said that when Trump says he wants to “make America great again,” he’s all but announcing that he wants to stick it to the poor and minorities. “I’m a white southerner – I know what ‘Make America Great Again’ means, and all of you of a certain age know exactly what it means. I didn’t fall off this truck yesterday, I’ve heard this song a long time. It means first, I’ll give you the economy you had 50 years ago, and second, I’ll give you the society you had 50 years ago: I’ll move you up and move somebody else down.” America has chosen to trust Donald instead of Clinton. Why? Despite Clinton’s plans for unity, respect for law and equality. America wants to make America great once more and again. The question remains, great in whose eyes?
